1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and device for variably scanning a specimen with a scanning microscope to emphasize a region on a specimen surface.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In line-by-line scanning of a specimen surface by a scanning microscope, the maximum allowable scan rate for an interesting region of the specimen has determined the scan rate for the entire scan operation, even if such scan rate results in relatively long imaging times. A loss in resolution of the region of interest results if the scan rate is increased above such maximum rate, even if a higher rate could have been utilized outside the region of interest.
It is known in the art to generate a topographic signal of a specimen surface from an electrical scan signal derived from secondary electrons generated during a scan operation, as shown in L. Reimer and G. Pfefferkorn "Raster-Elektronenmikroskopie", Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1977, cf. pp. 103 and 109-130.